Nickel with urchinlike and sisallike structures has been successfully fabricated by a facile hydrothermal method. Investigations have revealed that the addition of surfactants and the presence of hydrazine hydrate and glycine are essential for the morphologies development. Furthermore, the magnetic properties of the samples with different morphologies have been studied, and the possible formation process is also discussed. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.